Tech spurt spawns gains

STOCKS REPORT

Technology scrips were in the limelight as the market ended the week on a high, closing in positive territory for the third straight day.

The Wipro scrip was the biggest gainer in the benchmark Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex basket, rising 6.33 per cent to close at Rs 644.45 as investors cheered a surprise 1:1 bonus from the IT major, brokers said.

A rise in technology stock prices in most of the world markets helped sentiment, they added. The breadth of the market was positive, with gainers outpacing losers 15:8 in the BSE. Volumes were average, with a turnover of Rs 2,086.65 crore recorded on the BSE and Rs 4,391.90 crore on the NSE.

A dealer from Motilal Oswal Securities said, "The results season was expected to give the much awaited impetus but some lacklustre results combined with FII selling led to the recent fall in the market. But after the steep fall in most frontline counters as well as mid-caps, a relief rally was expected as investors squared off oversold positions at lower levels. Going forward, volatility will remain as wary investors take cautious buy calls."

The BSE Sensex hit a high of 6374.03 and a low of 6302.03 in intra-day trades before finally closing at 6346.57 points, up 47.37 points (0.75 per cent) from its previous close. Technology, consumer durables and capital goods scrips were among the biggest gainers on Friday while select metal and PSU scrips recorded some losses.

Other top Sensex basket gainers included ICICI Bank, up 3.02 per cent to Rs 395.75, Infosys Technologies was up 2.77 per cent to Rs 1,998.10, Satyam Computer gained 2.14 per cent to Rs 405 and L&T was up 2.04 per cent to Rs 992.95.

Ranbaxy Labs was the biggest loser in the Sensex basket, falling 1.97 per cent to Rs 925.25, Tata Steel was down 1.95 per cent to Rs 361.60, Hero Honda fell 1.80 per cent to Rs 506.15, HDFC Bank was down 1.26 per cent to Rs 539.50 and Dr Reddy's was down 1.22 per cent to Rs 682.

The BSE IT index was the biggest gainer in the BSE, rising 2.91 per cent, followed by the BSE Consumer Durables index, up 2.60 per cent, the TECk index was up 2.39 per cent and the BSE Capital Goods index gained 1.85 per cent over its previous close. The BSE Mid-cap index was up 1.34 per cent and the BSE Small-cap index rose by 1.62 per cent over its previous close.